4 short random paragraphs

I just said to Gabe, "Do you like kisses?" as I was kissing his head, of course. He said, "No, that makes me lovesick."

It was the WORST night for sleep, and I couldn't wait for the girls to go to school so that I could conk out on the couch. Which I did, and then I showered, and now I feel so much better. What to do, what to do... I know! Watch tv on the couch!

Claire puked randomly at school yesterday. I have my pediatrician filling out the forms to get her seen by Charlotte's gastroenterologist. I think she may have reflux. And if that guy wants me to collect her poop, put it into jars, and freeze it, and THEN take her blood like he did with Charlotte, I might run away to Mexico.

I have a hard time coming up with food to feed the family for dinner (or any other meal for that matter) because food is generally unappealing to me. This week, though, I fasted so I was really hungry for something substantial. I decided I wanted chicken tetrazzini and screw the kids, but it turns out Charlotte and Gabe loved it. What what? That's awesome! I also wanted quiche, but I ate that alone. It was mighty good, though. I ate over half of it. But, I think that boils down to just over a two egg omelet with ham and cheese and spinach with a glass of milk. Okay, I used cream, but what I'm saying is that is a regular sized meal in my book. So quiche is the way to go. I made it crustless because #1 - crust is a huge effort, and #2, I usually don't eat that part anyway.

Peanut Butter Banana Cake Recipe

So, here's the original recipe I started with:

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA CAKE

CAKE:

1 c. mashed ripe bananas
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. whipping cream
3 eggs
1 pkg. pudding included butter flavor cake mix

FROSTING:

1 can ready to spread vanilla frosting
1/2 tsp. banana extract or vanilla
3-4 drops yellow food coloring, if desired

GLAZE:

1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch pan. In large bowl combine mashed bananas and butter; mix well (mixture will look slightly curdled). Add peanut butter. Beat well. Add whipping cream and eggs. Beat at high speed until smooth. Add cake mix and flour. Beat at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at high speed.
Pour into pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan, if desired. Cool completely.

In small bowl, combine all frosting ingredients; stir until smooth and creamy. Frost cake. In small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients; beat until smooth. Drizzle glaze over frosting. Just before serving, garnish with thin banana slices. Store in refrigerator.

Here's what I did different:
I didn't find a box that said butter cake with pudding, so I used a yellow cake with pudding mix. I didn't add anything to the vanilla icing, I just used it straight out of the can. It was good. I didn't garnish with a banana. I didn't keep them in the fridge. They were just fine on the counter over night (all 2 of them that I had left). And I baked them for 20 minutes in a cupcake pan. Ta da!

We've been busy around here

Mostly with Charlotte's baptism and birthday party. It was a really gorgeous baptism service, and I want to thank all of my friends and family for participating. And apologize to whomever didn't see Charlotte get dunked. Andy had no idea that everyone wasn't in the room yet. I can attest to how impossible it is to tell what is going on when you are down in the font. I was sitting on the stairs, and all I could see in the room was a wall of kids pressed up to the glass to see the baptism. So, very very sorry.

We also had her bday party with the fam. Turbo party. I made a monkey cake and some peanut butter-banana cupcakes that were pretty dang good. They were even better the next day because the banana flavor had developed a little more. Here are some pictures:




Anyway, we have the children's primary program at church on Sunday, with a practice on Saturday, plus a birthday party to attend on Saturday, and then we are camping next weekend. Busy.

In other news, I have been watching "Dark Shadows." Not the original soap opera from the sixties, but the tv drama revival from 1991. It is so goodly bad or badly good depending on how you look at it. It was only 1 season, so I am left hanging with questions. Does anyone remember this show besides me? Barnabus the vampire? Angelique the banshee voodoo queen? Trust me, it is campy greatness. PLUS PLUS PLUS, Johnny Depp is slated to star as Barnabus in the Dark Shadows movie set to start filming in February. So jump on the bandwagon now, peeps! I think I'll be renting the 60's original soap if I can get it.

Lesson 5

So, I'm taking a class online from BYU. I had been moving along at a nice pace with a 100% average until a few weeks ago when I got to Lesson 5. Lesson 5 was my first written assignment. The previous grades were all multiple choice, graded on the spot by the computer. So, I came to a stop.

It isn't that the assignment was difficult. I just haven't had to write in an organized essayish fashion in over a decade, and I really didn't want to screw up. And it takes energy to organize my thoughts into paragraphs like that.

Today, though, I did it. I turned in Lesson 5. I received an email letting me know it may take 24 hours to receive the grade. Boo. I moved on to the beginning of Lesson 6.

When I got back home a few minutes ago, I thought I would just check to see if I had a grade yet. I didn't expect it, really, but I thought a look at those 100%s all in a row would boost my self esteem. And guess what? Lesson 5 was there! And guess what else? I still have 100% average! SO good for my self esteem!

In other news...

Charlotte went to the shrink today, and she had blood work done today. The shrink was great. This guy was really nice and insightful, and he is sending us to a cognitive behavioral therapist for some skillz. Love it. The blood work, though. Ugh.

She had to be poked in both arms because the flow stopped in the first arm before they had filled all their vials. I was already perturbed because Marianne, the tech I met earlier in the day when dropping off the POO SAMPLES (one of which had to be frozen, so that has been in my freezer for a few days. Ugh), told me she would be there until six and she came from pediatric and was great with kids, and as it turns out she was NOT there, so two other ladies had to do it. Yes, two. One holding down Charlotte's arm, one poking, and then they switched off. Plus Andy was holding her down, too. There was much screaming and one firm lecture from me about holding still to get it all over with. Once that band aid was on, she split. I mean, the lady was saying, "Would you like a treat?" and Charlotte was already out the door, down the hall, and in the lobby headed for the parking lot. Her treat came in the form of a trip to Chick-Fil-A where Andy fed her because her elbows were just too sore to bend.

I am so glad that is over.

Hurray for 100%!!

Charlotte is 8!!!

Happy birthday to my big girl, Charlotte! I can't believe she is eight today. No, really, I can't. Being the first child, I can remember her infancy the most clearly, and I can remember holding and thinking about this day 8 years later. And here we are, in a blink of an eye, and she is so big and smart and wonderful!

I'm hoping today is a great day for her. She's having a really stressful time right now, so I want today to be a break. Eat whatever you want, today, babe. Liz brought her doughnuts for breakfast, she gets to buy her lunch, and we'll do whatever she wants for dinner. Then, it is her first Activity Days*, and I'll take up cupcakes for all the girls. She is stoked beyond belief. Plus, it is picture day at school, and she is wearing a light-up Birthday Girl button to be immortalized in her 2nd grade photo.

My mom is coming today to help me to something with this ridiculous sty of a house. I can't do it. I recognize defeat. Still, I'm dying to cancel b/c I don't want to mess with it! But it just needs to be done so bad. We have ceased to function. As a small sampling of the state of my home, here is a picture of my desk. It is representative of every horizontal surface including the floor:

I've been horrible about eating sugar lately. I need to reform. Again. A never-ending cycle. Sometimes it is so easy, and I don't even think about junk food. Other times... yeah.

I just remembered: Charlotte woke up telling us we had just put her down to sleep after the restaurant where she ate her "fantina," which is what dad told her a plate of all-you-can-eat food is called. I love my kids' dreams.

And while I'm writing cute stuff to remember: On Sunday, we were gathering in the office to watch General Conference on the internet. Gabe came in to a picture of the Mormon Tabernacle choir sitting in their seats all dressed up in their robes. The women wore red robes and the men wore blue. He glanced at the screen and said, very conversationally, "Oh, who's winning? The blue team or the red team?" Oh, sweet boy, I love you!

Alright, Charlotte, I'll be thinking of you all day! This time 8 years ago I was laboring away at Texas Women's Hospital, wishing I was drinking a Coke. My last meal before I went into labor was onion rings, chocolate cake, and Coke with lime with all my girlfriends. You came on your due date, blessed baby, and Sarah and Mom and Dad all saw you get here. All I remember feeling was happy and excited the whole time. You were the sweetest little baby, always laughing and interested in everything around you. And look at that! You are the same way today! I love you!

Here's a very tiny video of her at a couple days old. It's cuz I can't find a still shot on my computer, and it's only, like, 5 seconds, and if you look at the top of her head when she looks to the left of the screen, you can see a little bit of the giant hematoma nastinest that ensued when the vaccuum popped off her head over and over during her birth:

*At our church, girls ages 8 through 11 participate in a program called Activity Days. Twice a month, they all meet for fun activities and learning experiences that are intended to help them develop and grow their testimonies and their characters. They focus on learning and living the gospel, serving others, developing their talents, memorizing scriptures, and identifying their testimonies. They didn't have this exact program when I was growing up, and I'm excited to learn alongside Charlotte.